Green Door
Preschool
Parent Handbook
PARENT HANDBOOK
Green Door Nursery School Ltd offers a well-rounded program that is designed to meet
the needs of preschool aged children. In learning through play and discovery environment, and interactions with other children, they are offered both structured and unstructured activities that contribute to their physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development. The children will participate in creative art activities, games, stories, music,
drama, and play centres, as well as activities in the dry sports area and at the outdoor
play facility. We will have monthly themes, colour days, and special theme days
throughout the year.
With the help of our very qualified and caring staff the children are exposed to play that
leads to growth of knowledge and discovery of how their world around them works. We
take pride in providing the best care for your child.
The toys and equipment at Green Door have been carefully selected to ensure that they
are safe, sturdy, and encourage creative and fun play.
Philosophy of the Program
Green Door’s philosophy is “learning through play and discovery”. We believe that play
is essential to a child’s well being and development. Play is fun! Play is the work of children! Green Door’s program involves the teacher, the child, and the parents. Our
teachers create an environment rich in materials to explore, manipulate, and talk about.
Children learn through games, activities, worksheets and repetition in a secure and
comforting environment.
At Green Door children are stimulated to:
•
develop a feeling of self worth and adequacy
•
interact with other children in group situations
as well as one on one
•
relate to and interact with other adults
•
function independently outside the family unit
•
use their fine and gross motor skills
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PARENT HANDBOOK
•
develop creative skills
•
develop listening and language skills
•
recognize numbers and letters
Snack Program
We have a parent run snack program at Green Door. We ask for one parent from each
class to be the snack co-ordinator. This parent will contact you to let you know when it is
your child's turn to bring snacks. On your child's special day they will bring snacks for all
15 children in the class as well as juice and small disposable Dixie cups. Please keep in
mind we are a NUT FREE school. You may however bring cupcakes or sweets on your
child's birthday. Only children with severe food allergies are to bring their own snacks.
We suggest the following for nutritious snacks: small muffins, crackers, or cut up fruit.
The following are prohibited foods and you should not include them in your snack preparations: nuts & seeds, nut oils, peanut butter, hard candies, caramels & toffee, chewing
gum, popcorn, gumdrops, jelly beans, M&M candies, and snacks containing toothpicks
or skewers. No food preparation can take place at Green Door.
Many store bought bakery items state on the package that the item may contain traces
of nuts or that it was produced in a facility that uses nuts. Therefore, these items cannot
be served for snack. Please read labels carefully to avoid disappointment.
Show and Tell
On your child's snack day they are to bring a show and tell from home. This gives your
child the opportunity to share with the class. Your child will wear a special helper tag,
dress the weather frog, put up the weather and add a number to the calendar. They will
also sit on the special helper mat this day.
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Holidays
Green Door Preschool will follow the same holiday schedule as the Calgary Public
School. Upcoming holidays will be posted in the hall as well as in the monthly calendar.
Volunteers
As you all know a school cannot run well without the help of parent volunteers. Through
the year we will be asking for a play dough mom/dad, and snack co-ordinators (one for
each class). We also have an open-door policy, you are welcome to come and help in
your child's class from; October till June, just let your teacher know in advance.
Discipline Policy
Caring about children and wanting the best possible learning environment assumes a
positive approach to discipline. At Green Door our teachers guide the children in resolving conflict and developing self-control.
The main method of discipline is "Redirection". A teacher will remind him/her of safe
and acceptable methods of play. The child has the choice of altering his/her play methods or choosing another centre. We encourage them to express their feelings and to
apologize.
Parent Guidelines
1. Identify all removable clothing and footwear with your child's name.
2. Your child will use glue, paint, markers and playdough regularly. We provide slip
on plastic aprons for painting but they do not cover an entire outfit. Please dress
your child accordingly.
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3. Check to make sure your child has used the washroom before coming to school.
Keep in mind that belt buckles and some fasteners are difficult for children to
manage in the washroom.
4. When the weather is wet or snowy have your child remove his / her outdoor
footwear at the class entrance and leave them in the hallway on the shelves provided. Your child requires indoor shoes when boots are worn to school.
5. Your child should wear rubber-soled shoes in the school. For safety concerns we
do not recommend that children wear plastic sandals, cowboy boots and other
hard soled shoes.
6. Please do not allow your child to bring toys from home into the classroom, unless
it is their “Special Helper” day.
7. If your child is not well, please do not bring him / her to school. A child must be
symptom free for 24 hours before returning to school. We request this in consideration of all the children and staff. We will contact you to pick up your child immediately should he / she have a suspected communicable disease, or if he
should become ill at school. If your child is absent for more than two days please
advise the teacher.
8. The teachers will open classroom doors prior to the start of each class. We ask
you to remain in the hall with your child until the doors open. Then bring your
child into the classroom and release custody of your child to the teacher. Let the
teacher know in writing if someone else will be picking your child up at the end of
class.
9. Pick your child up promptly at the end of class. If you are going to be late it is
your responsibility to make alternate arrangements for the pick up of your child.
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There will be a late fee charged of $5.00 a min to all parents who are later than 5
min.
10. To facilitate the pick up of your child we ask you or your child’s care giver:
!
to wait in the hallway
!
to refrain from crowding around the classroom doors and
!
to come forward to take custody of your child when released by the teacher.
11. In the event of an emergency in the Trico Centre we will take the children across
Willingdon Blvd. to St. William School (address - 11020 Fairmount Drive SE). At
The Midnapore location we will evacuate the building and go to the Tim Horton’s
at 40 Midlake Blvd SE. Southcentre the meeting place is the parking lot end of
the sidewalk between the south exit/entrance and the parking lot. The teachers
will then notify the parents.
12. We require a written notice one month prior to withdrawal from Green Door (i.e. if
leaving March 1, you must present written notice by February 1). If one month’s
notice is not provided the fee for that month will be deposited.
13. School closures for weather related days will be posted on the website.
14. There is a service charge of $30.00 for all returned cheques.
15. If you have an emergency requiring you to contact the school during school
hours phone 403-225-5560 (Trico) Or 403-271-5400 (Midnapore) 403-523-9333
(Southcentre). Otherwise, call or text Green Door’s main telephone number 403870-7367 and leave a message.
Concerns
Please contact me with any concerns you might have about your child's teacher
or your child. We will also contact you if your teacher has any concerns about
your child. Debbie Sheppard 403-870-7367.
GREEN DOOR PRESCHOOL SCHOOL LTD